Arbitrator rules in favor of Top Rank in fight for Donaire

Yahoo! Sports is reporting that an arbitrator has ruled in favor of Top Rank Boxing in its fight to keep boxing star Nonito Donaire under contract. Donaire is currently the WBC and WBO Bantamweight champ.

Via Kevin Iole at Yahoo!:

Golden Boy signed Donaire after Donaire had declared that he was a free agent and available to sign with the promoter of his choice. Donaire filed suit in a Nevada court alleging that he is free of Top Rank, but Top Rank contends that is not the case. Petrocelli said Top Rank has yet to be served with Donaire’s Nevada lawsuit.

Top Rank signed Donaire to a three-year contract with a one-year option on June 26, 2008. But Donaire was on medical suspension for more than 300 days in the first year of the contract. Top Rank says there is a clause in its contract with Donaire that adds time onto the contract whenever a fighter is unable to perform because of suspension. That time clause is common in many fighters’ contracts.

As a result, Top Rank claims that its three-year contract thus runs into early June 2012 and that the one-year option, which it exercised, takes Donaire into June 2013.

The Fight Lawyer has a write-up on the breakup and a link to the legal papers.

Payout Perspective:

Nonito Donaire is the best Filipino fighter in the world not named Manny Pacquiao. He is a budding superstar in the lighter weight divisions of boxing and is a hot commodity. Golden Boy is in need of a young, fresh star and Donaire could be the next Filipino sensation to hit it big.

Taking a look at the Complaint, the issue deals with the Promotional Rights Agreement. Donaire asserts that the contract guaranteed that he would be offered three fights a year but he was only offered two, two years in a row. Top Rank claims that Donaire was injured for 300 days which extends the contract. However, Donaire claims that his medical records will show he was not hurt.

If the arbitration decision holds up, it will be interesting to see if Donaire will abide by the terms of the contract and how Top Rank will use Donaire.